Just my Luck
by Ephemeral Existence
Summary: What if Fred and George managed to get past the Ageing line set by Dumbledore? What if they put in Ron's name as a joke? Funny how a little prank changes an entire year of school. Slight AU. Cedric/Ron.


**Pairings:** Ronald Weasley/Cedric Diggory

**Full summary: **What if toying with the age line had worked? What if Fred and George had gotten away with the dimwitted Ageing potion, and entered Ron Weasley's name as a joke? Join us in the adventures of Ronald Weasley being a Triwizard champion instead of Harry Potter. It is still unsure as to whether Ron can handle the fame he had once dreamt of, with the spotlight off Harry, and on him.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter!

**Chapter One**: _You've got to be joking. _

"Ronald Weasley." Dumbledore's voice boomed across the entire room. Many jaws dropped, including his own, when Ron's name was called. "Ronald Weasley, come here now." There was a stern expression, and his mouth went into a grim line, as he waited for the underaged redhead to join the ranks of the other Champions.

The murmurs of students around him, was a blurred muffle to his ears, as he swallowed his nerves. Hermione gave him her usual look that purely said, 'Are you mental'? He could only respond with a shake of his head. He'd only dreamed of being a Triwizard champion, but it hadn't been anything serious, as there were the new regulations that had been imposed.

Harry gave him a push, and Ron fell forward, quickly gaining composure and walking towards Dumbledore, and back into the other room where Fleur, Cedric, and Viktor stood. Had it been another scenario, this would be awkward enough. The older Hufflepuff seeker, the beautiful Veela that sung to his heart and made him stammer, and his.. 'I-idol!' His eyes went wide, as the three Champions stared right at him with confused expressions.

"What are you doing here, Weasley?" Cedric stepped towards Ron, looming over him as they exchanged looks. "You're not supposed to be here, it's only reserved for the chosen Champions-"

With loud annoyed chattering interrupting, Dumbledore walked in among the other Karkaroff, Maxime, and a few other professors, who were all eyeing the nervous redhead. "What is the meaning of this?"

Ron threw his hands up in the air, "It's not my fault, really!" It was true. He really hadn't put his name in the Goblet. "There's the age line, I couldn't have gotten past it even if I tried! I'll do anything, give me a truth serum, or some magic spell, I'm innocent, really.." His voice trailed away, as he rattled on, everyone remaining silent.

Dumbledore moved forward, and stared at Ron, "I believe there isn't much we can do... Your name was chosen. What shall the solution be?" He turned to Bartemius Crouch for any solution as he was the man in charge.

A moment to think, and Barty Crouch looked the young Weasley in the eye. "You will have to compete. It is the rules, and the Goblet has chosen you amongst the rest."

The rest after that was a blur. Ron didn't even want to look anyone else in the eye. Draco Malfoy had passed by him in the halls and sneered an insult about him, but he barely even heard it. Fleur just shot him a disgusted expression, thinking he had wanted this, and cheated his way in.

He slowly walked back to his common room, hand stuffed in his pocket, when he heard running footsteps coming after him. "Hey, Weasley!" Ron stopped, and looked back, waiting until Diggory caught up. Catching his breaths, he leaned over for a bit, looking up at Ron. "What was that all about, mate?"

"Honestly..." Ron bit his lip, and looked away. "I have no clue."

"Well your name got in the cup somehow. Did you put it in?"

Annoyed at having to defend himself yet again, he spurted out a loud, "No! How many times do I have to say it? I did not put my name into that cup! I couldn't even get past the Age line for one thing, for starters, I wouldn't know how!"

Cedric ran a hand through his dark hair, and shook his head. "Fine, fine, I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything. I'm just as curious as everyone else as to how your name popped out of that Goblet. And if you say you really didn't do it.." A skeptical expression graced his strong features, looking Ron in the eye.

"I didn't!" Ron glared back with as much conviction as he could. When Cedric didn't say anything, he sighed and broke the eye contact. "For all I know, Fred and George did get past the Age line with that potion. Good thing they hadn't been picked. They did make a joke about how they would put all our names in as well, but with the Ageing line, it wouldn't pick our names out.. Right?"

Cedric's mouth dropped, and shook his head. "No, Weasley. That's only if the person who put their name in isn't old enough. But if they bypassed the Goblet somehow, they could put anyone's name in and still get chosen!"

Ron's eyes bulged out of his skull. His brothers had gotten him into this mess that he couldn't get out of. But at least, now he had an explanation to tell to the common room, unless his twin brothers had already told the rest of the Gryffindors. "Bloody hell..."

**A/N: **Sorry if the facts aren't correct. I'm only doing this based off my memory. This isn't meant to be exactly along the storyline of HPGoF, but just loosely based. I'm in University right now, and had it been the summer, I'd go through all the facts, but as for now, I'm just playing with the story, and hopefully it gets somewhere. Writing isn't my strong factor, so many things are basic. Also writing on a notepad, rather than Microsoft Word. Pretty much blind! Thank you for understanding!


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